Created in Birmingham

Wall of Sound is another blog run by a UCE lecturer. I ask again, where are the Birmingham and Aston Uni bloggers? This one is by Tim Wall, Professor of Radio and Popular Music Studies, and the recent post I want to draw your attention to is Making money out of music: how can regional music economies remain successful:

Most major European cities have a thriving entertainment quarter where a formerly forgotten land of warehouses and rundown commercial properties has been transformed. A few minutes watching the money pass over the till tells you music is business. And back from the bars, clubs and live venues there are small recording studios, music managers, graphic designers, and equipment hire. These clusters of small businesses have become the focus of attention for departments of state, economic development agencies and city councils. They are now officially part of the ‘Cultural Industries’, and it’s argued that it’s these businesses that can make the city more attractive to live in, that can expand in the declining, low rent areas, of the city and bring them back to life, and more fundamentally that they can make money and create jobs. They are seen as part of our post industrial future.

This post acts as a preamble to his 38 page report Making Money out of Music (PDF) which expands on these themes.

From suselstahl

Photos are posted here from the Birmingham Flickr community. Click on the image for more details.

The Webheath Digital Photography Club is a new-ish group that meets every Tuesday in Redditch.

The Club was formed in January 2007 and exists to encourage the development of members’ photographic skills in a friendly and sociable atmosphere. Anyone with any interest in digital photography is encouraged to join, whether they are owners of compact cameras or the latest DSLRs, computer owners or not.

They also run regular field trips and monthly assignments. You can also see the work of their members in their gallery.

On Aug 7th they’re having an open evening “when the Central England Reptile and Raptor Rescue charity will be bringing various animals and birds from their collection for us to photograph”. All are welcome.

via Flickr

• Dave Hart digests another impenetrable strategy document and throws out an interesting fact: “Stat Three: We’re growing faster than the economy as a whole. Hang on, that last one is kind of true but if you look closely you’ll find that growth in the creative industries is like a rollercoaster, sorry I mean its cyclical. Actually its pro-cyclical. When the economy dips we dip big-time and when it grows we grow big, big-time.”
• Viggy La Q visits the Paula Rego etchings exhibition at the Waterhall Gallery and is impressed. (The BM&AG site appears to still be screwed though. Sort it out folks.)
• If you’ve ever wondered what a test screening is like you can find out at the MAC on August 1st where they’ll be testing out Clubbed, a new feature film set in 80s Coventry. Email comms@screenwm.co.uk or telephone 0121 265 7120 for free tickets.

The Metal Symposium, which took place at the Walsall Art Gallery on the Friday of Supersonic, was quite excellent though unfortunately all the ideas and thoughts it generated in my head were smashed to pulp by the subsequent festival. Thank heavens, then, for this New Statesmen article where Daniel Trilling takes the themes and runs with them.

At the Walsall symposium, a group of tattooed, T-shirted men gathered to discuss the question in earnest. Nic Bullen, a founder member of Napalm Death, described his band’s low, guttural vocals as a form of “pure sound” that connects with listeners at a primal level. The music critic and artist Edwin Pouncey agreed, telling how, the first time he saw the ultra-noisy industrial metal band Swans play live: “It was like having the air pumped out of the room, so you could hardly breathe . . . It was scary, but the greatest feeling in the world.” Pouncey later expounded on the attraction of heavy metal’s grotesque imagery and lyrics, which draw from the “cesspool of human existence”.

I hope a video, audio or transcript of the symposium makes it out soon. I’d love to pour over it.

via D’log.

Birminghamusic.com has a couple of competitions of interest to photographers and drummers respectively.

Summer of Love is run in conjunction with St Paul’s Gallery’s exhibion of Karl Ferris’ work.

Karl Ferris, the father of Psychedelic photography, is holding his one and only 40th anniversary of the Summer Of Love Exhibition - The Karl Ferris Experience, here at St Pauls Gallery. Karl is famous for his album cover photography of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Donovan and many other Bands.

Birminghamusic’s competition is to “find Birmingham’s most talented photographers within the music industry” and the scope appears to be pretty wide. Submission details are here.

The other competition is to win tickets for Drumfest which takes place in Birmingham on August 5th (details of the lineup here). Tickets are £15 but if you answer this question correctly you stand a chance of getting in for free. Which LA studio drum legend topped the bill at Drumfest 2003? (Hint…)

From Simon Medlicott

Photos are posted here from the Birmingham Flickr community. Click on the image for more details.

At the Fierce launch party I noticed a banner by the entrance. It was about 5ft high and covered in the logos of all the agencies, sponsors and other organsations who had funded the festival. It stood as a testament to the work Fierce had done in making the festival possible but it was also mildly ludicrous. What was the purpose of this banner? Did anyone actually look at it in detail and take it in? Whatever, the launch was a lot of fun and festival was a big success so I guess it didn’t matter.

On Wednesday I popped along to the Rhubarb Rhubarb Light Sale at Curzon St Station, another great arts event put on with a not insubstantial amount of sponsorship and funding. Hanging outside the venue were two huge banners flapping in the wind, one of which looks like this:

A little over a third of the notice is devoted to logos, most of which are illegible from the street and hardly any of which are of interest to the general punter. Hewlett Packard I get since they’re in the photo printing business and local establishment like the MAC have some recognition, but most of them are insider brands. And, frankly, it looks pretty naff, not to mention ugly. There’s no denying the involvement of government agencies and private industry is essential to arts provision in this age but when did this obsession with cramming all the brands in one aesthetic car crash become the acceptable norm? What train of thought leads a sponsor to say, yes, you can have a substantial amount of money but we insist you spoil your publicity by including our cryptic logo? And has anyone done any research into what effect all this has on the general public’s perception of the event? I suspect it might be a little negative, tainting the work with the notion that it’s taking money from sick children or something. I know when I see the “Arts Council Supported” logo I have to fight back prejudices even though I completely understand the importance of getting that funding.

Since this is the creative sector we’re talking about can’t we be a little more creative with how sponsorship is declared?

I’d welcome comments on this.

• The current issue of clubbing newspaper Night Times, which you can pick up at ticket outlets, record shops and groovy cafes, has a very excitable article about the Que Club re-opening (previously). Not much non-clubbing news (as you’d expect) but they do have some photos of what the hall looks like now. By the gods it’s a big space. I’ve also heard, by email, that they will be doing other sorts of events including gigs and performances so it looks to be an all-round venue. More news as it emerges.
• On his blog Stef Lewandowski lists all the things he’s involved with at the moment. Sobering reading if you think you’ve got a lot on your plate.
• On their blog 383 talk about the work they’ve been doing for Urban Pie, a new pie restaurant in the Bull Ring which even a food ignoramus like me is intrigued by. Mmm…
• Joe Holyoak is an architect and urban designer who’s site has been designed by Substrakt. They describe him as “very active in the political and practical arenas of architecture, conservation and urban planning, particularly in Birmingham” so his blog should be worth keeping tabs on.
• Rich Batsford adds to the Spotted Dog debate. Good to hear the comedy shows he promoted at the Old Joint Stock Theatre sold out too.

Neat video interview with Little Chris, the power behind Brumcast, now on its 61st episode.

Interesting how he fell into doing what he does through sheer enthusiasm rather than any global domination plans. I can relate.

Creative Republic “is the new representative body for the creative and cultural industries in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Created by members of the industry it seeks to promote the wealth of creative excellence within Birmingham’s cultural sector. Its membership will be open to all people working in the creative and cultural industries in the region.”

The group will be launched officially very soon but right now they’re looking to recruit an ambassador.

You will need skill, imagination, superlative communication skills, dazzling networks and the inside track on how to get things done in the city. The successful applicant has the opportunity to shape and develop Creative Republic, create a buzz around it and its potential and bring a focus and clarity to the creative sector in the City as never before.

All details here.

(C.o.I. notice: Creative Republic is the very-hands-off-in-every-way financial supporter of this blog.)

Popped into IKON Eastside today at 68–70 Heath Mill Lane. It’s very dark in there. Very dark. Well worth a visit though.

There’s an event tomorrow:

Richard Wilson and Sean Dower
Twenty Pieces of Silver
Thursday 26 July 2007, 6pm – free
Twenty Pieces of Silver reunites Richard Wilson and Sean Dower, former members of the ground breaking Bow Gamelan Ensemble. They will perform a series of short percussive sketches in which sound, light and action are absolutely integral. Developing out of a process of improvisation and rehearsal in the studio, these brief moments build up, creating a loose sense of continuity and visual narrative.

Ale Installation is a show running at the MADE gallery on Fazeley St (map) until 2nd August. There’s a private view tomorrow (Thursday) at 6pm.

Pamela Ginn’s tribute to the real ale heritage of the region was developed in conjunction with the Festival of Xtreme Building. A mixed media installation, Ale recreates the sights, sounds and smell of the brewery through yards of tubing, a traditional cask and a hand pump through which visitors can pull their own pint of real ale.

Ale is designed to truly engage the viewer, and was inspired both by the artist’s desire to recreate the social interaction of the traditional public house and also by her wish to avoid the situation she has witnessed many times, where ‘private view’ audiences fail to interact with the art being exhibited.

The exhibition will be lined with photography from Highgate Brewery one of the oldest Victorian tower breweries in the country; a beautiful building that represents the pivotal role that breweries once had at the heart of the community.

I’m lead to believe there will be real ale, pork pies, cheese and Branston Pickle at the view…

The deadline for submissions to the Flip Animation Festival is August 3rd. Here’s the form (Word doc).

Flip is an eclectic mix of all things animation. Based in the heart of the Midlands the festival provides a wide range of experiences from educational workshops for young people to experimental animation for grown ups; from industry led panels to feature film screenings and from international showcases and retrospectives of short films to spotlights on animation companies.

You can get a taste of what the festvial was like last year on this archived site an do the social network thang on their MySpace. The festival runs from 1st to 3rd November at Light House in Wolverhampton.

• Laura, the Silver Footed Gig Slut Enthusiast, has spun off her invaluable gig guide to its own blog, The Tuesday Listings, updated every week with MySpace, etc links for every band.
• Friends of the Stars have started a podcast. It’s as much a music and ramble show as about the band themselves but probably tells you more about them that way.
• Creative Enterprise is a blog I’ve just discovered by Charlotte Carey who researches Creative Industries, Entrepreneurship, Gender and Diversity at UCE. If that all sounds a bit dry this post illustrates how irritating Charlotte finds that assumption. Nice writing.
• Saturday Night at the Queens are having an open mic night on the 4th with four 15 minute slots on a first come first served basis. The aim is to scout of new talent for their shows. (Previously…)

Media Skills are running a three day seminar with Andrew Dubber based around his New Music Strategies blog held at the Screen Media Lab in Digbeth from August 29th - 31st.

Explore the impact of the Internet on the music industry through this unique seminar delivered by Andrew Dubber. Focusing on social networking, new distribution opportunities and targeting niche markets globally, this seminar examines how new media technologies can be exploited for success.

Costs: £238 excl. vat per person (£340 excl. vat with accomodation). To book now call 0121 204 9883 or email info@mediaskills.org.uk.

More details on the NMS blog.

Ian Reynold’s Nodding at the Back photography exhibition gets another airing at Light House in Wolverhampton with a launch this Wednesday where Ian will be talking about his work at 6.30pm.

Punch Records were inspired to commission Ian Reynolds, one of Birmingham’s maverick image purveyors and a fan of hip-hop culture, to produce this collection of images: to capture live performance, represent the true meaning of hip-hop and re-create moments in history. These images of local, national and international artists represent Ian’s style and his charismatic approach, and give the audience a glimpse of some of the most influential musical artists to have graced Birmingham.

You might remember the exhibition when it was on display at Birmingham’s Central Library last year, as reported in this BBC interview. The Light House show runs until September 14th and there’s an additional “free drop-in DJ workshop on Thursday 9 August, 1-4pm provided by Punch Records. Children, young people and adults welcome.” Email kathryn@light-house.co.uk for more details.

Stereographic is a new design house run by Sam Underwood and George Benson that’s moving to Birmingham soon having run a company called Elektonika in Nottingham for seven years. They’re currently looking to connect with Birmingham’s design community (so the Plus+ festival should come in handy) and are building up a portfolio of small low-cost jobs, should anyone fancy a bargin in return for giving them some creative freedom.

There’s a lot of examples of their work on their website including graphics showing their search for a logo, featured above.

Previously…

Keep Digbeth Vibrant is a new site set up, I believe, by a resident of the infamous Abacus building next to the Spotted Dog.

Digbeth is renowned in Birmingham, the Midlands region and throughout the world a diverse and vibrant area encompassing a unique mix of industry, entertainment and residential developments. Part of the massive ‘Eastside’ Development Area of Birmingham, Digbeth is undergoing continued and exciting change. This website aims to support the continuing developments in Digbeth and take an active role in allowing the voices of those who live, work and relax in Digbeth be heard.

The website is expected to develop significantly over time but to start off they’ve launched a petition.

Also of interest is this thread on Skyscraper City, a forum populated by developers by the looks of things which gives another perspective. Forums are noisy places though, aren’t they?

And The Stirrer has a brief interview with Spotted Dog landlord John Tighe on his appeal against the Noise Abatement Order.

Via B:INS.

Poppy And The Jezebels are moving fast, or maybe I’m just too old to keep up. They’ve got an album out (pictured above) which you can buy in shops or from Amazon and there’s a wee feature on BBC Birmingham including a short video report.